'08 Stats Review

Since all is quiet, and we haven’t done so yet, here are some of the team leaders from the ‘08 season on both the mound and at the plate.

Hitting Leaders

Games - Justin Morneau (163)

Hits - Justin Morneau (187)

Runs - Joe Mauer (98)

Doubles - Justin Morneau (47)

Triples - Denard Span and Carlos Gomez (7)

Homeruns - Justin Morneau (23)

Runs Batted In - Justin Morneau (129)

Steals - Carlos Gomez (33)

Average - Joe Mauer (.328)

Pitching Leaders

Game Started - Nick Blackburn (33)

Wins - Kevin Slowey and Glen Perkins (12)

Saves - Joe Nathan (39)

Complete Games - Kevin Slowey (3)

Shutouts - Kevin Slowey (2)

Innings - Nick Blackburn (193.1)

Strikeouts - Scott Baker (141)

ERA - Joe Nathan (1.33)

From these numbers, there are a few interesting notes:

** The team had just two shutouts, both of which were thrown by Kevin Slowey. Slowey also threw three of the team’s five complete games.

** The lowest ERA was actually Jose Mijares (0.87), but because he was only with the team for a month, he didn’t throw enough innings.

** The Twins actually had a total of 42 saves on the season. Other than Joe Nathan’s 39, three players each had one: Matt Guerrier, Brian Bass, and Craig Breslow.

** With his 33 starts, Nick Blackburn started five more games than any other starting pitcher for the team. The next closest was Scott Baker with 28.

** Justin Morneau played in every single game in ‘08. It has been questioned whether he should have taken a day off in September, but you can’t argue that he’s a gamer.

** In just 93 games, Denard Span tied for the team lead in the triples category with seven. Imagine what a whole season would entail.

** The Twins offense scored 718 runs in ‘07, and in this ‘08 season scored 829. They also upped their team average from .264 in ‘07 to .279 in ‘08.